Marin Eloise.
I was left speechless as I witnessed the girl, whose father had suffered such a severe injury that his fate was uncertain, collapse onto the ground with a blank expression.
Through her stillness, I could see children helping citizens evacuate in the distance.
Although it was a situation where every hand was needed, I couldn’t bring myself to tell Marin that she was needed right now.
I had a glimpse of the immense sadness that must have been reflected in her twisted expression.
When I heard that my mother was hospitalized with a serious illness, I must have worn a similar expression.
No matter how strong one might be, there are always moments that are hard to overcome.
So at that moment, as I turned to help evacuate the people without saying a word, I noticed Marin biting her lip tightly and standing up.
As she silently approached the citizens to help them evacuate, I gently asked her.
“…Are you okay?”
When I asked, Marin replied with a face that clearly showed her struggle.
“…To be honest, I’m not okay. I can’t be okay.”
“Then…”
“…I know what you mean. But right now, I can’t just sit here.”
With that, Marin muttered while looking in the direction of the hospital where her father had just been taken.
“Dad is a hero, so he probably got hurt fighting for people, right? I want to be someone who can proudly say I’m his daughter. So I have to get up now…”
While enduring her sadness and pushing through her pain.
“No matter how hard it gets, I have to smile in front of others, because that’s what a hero does, right?”
That’s why this girl, despite being in so much pain, was forcing herself to smile. How could anyone not respect her strong spirit?
I closed my mouth at her resolution and nodded.
All I could do was ensure her determination did not fade and to complete our mission safely.
*
“Please maintain order and follow the instructions to evacuate to safety!”
“If there are children or the elderly around, please make sure to take them along to evacuate together!”
Perhaps it was because we were in the city center where the demonic beasts hadn’t yet directly attacked.
The citizens seemed a bit flustered by the sudden turn of events, but fortunately, they were evacuating without major chaos under our control.
If our job was just to evacuate the citizens from the city center, it wouldn’t have been a big deal even if it took some time.
But unfortunately, the current situation was not so simple.
“D-Did we survive? Is this place safe?! That’s what’s happening, right?!”
“I came this way because I was anxious… Most of the heroes in our area ran off to fend off the demonic beasts…”
Despite our evacuations, people kept appearing from somewhere.
Before long, word spread, and people from all over the city were coming through the transit gateway looking for a safe spot.
Among them were those who had fled from the eastern part of the city where the demonic beasts invaded, and others who felt anxious and came here after the heroes left to assist elsewhere.
It was far too many for the first years and a handful of heroes to cover.
Our numbers were limited, while the number of people we needed to evacuate kept increasing.
That alone was a problem, but an even greater issue awaited us.
“Damn, last time people were being controlled by the demonic beasts and went wild, and now witches and demonic beasts are invading the inner city! What the hell happened?! What are the heroes doing?!”
“I saw the demonic beast eating someone right in front of me… I don’t want to end up like that…”
The more people gathered, the more we heard those blaming the heroes and those in panic due to witnessing death.
“Ha… the barrier’s breaking… It’s all over now. We’re done for…”
“What is this? The only heroes around are just students! Can we feel safe with them?!”
People who had lost hope in the current situation and were getting rowdy kept asking if there were no other heroes.
And as more of them rose, anxiety spread among the crowd like an infectious disease.
Meanwhile, from the far sky, a small dot was flying towards us at high speed.
[■■■■■■■■■■!!!]
“T-THE DEMONIC BEAST!!!”
“AHHH! RUN AWAYYYYY!!!!”
The appearance of the demonic beast was the ultimate trigger for the crowd already engulfed in anxiety.
If people were gathered together, we could somehow protect them from the demonic beasts.
But if the people we needed to protect dispersed chaotically, it was certain that casualties would arise beyond our reach.
Moreover, chaos itself was dangerous.
“AHHH, DON’T STEP ON ME!!! AAHH, MOMMMM!!!”
“AAAAHHH!!!”
As people fell and were trampled among the fleeing crowd, it looked like they would die not from the demonic beasts but from each other.
“Everyone! Calm down! We’ll take care of the demonic beasts!!”
“Stay together!!”
But no matter how loudly we shouted, or how much we screamed.
“AHHH, I WANT TO LIVE! I DON’T WANT TO DIE!”
“EEEEK, WE HAVE TO RUN!!!”
Our voices were drowned out by the waves of chaos already sweeping through the crowd.
I saw Marin desperately shouting with all her might, trying to control the people while the demonic beasts hovered overhead, eyeing their prey.
Watching that scene, my head began to heat up slowly.
…Why can’t people hear us?
Even with the girl who stood up to protect them despite her family being hurt, crying out so earnestly.
The demonic beasts looming above, causing the chaos among the people.
That Marin, who should be respected above all for her cries was being so blatantly ignored.
All of this situation did not sit well with me.
I was angry.
[■■■■■■■■■■!!!]
The demonic beast flew toward the people.
And against the incoming monster, I charged forward.
As the demonic beast approached, I pushed through the petrified people and shoved my left arm deep into its gaping mouth.
The demon seemed to chew it happily, but sadly for it, the part that was supposed to be there had already been taken by another.
Inside the bewildered expression of the demonic beast, my steel left arm erupted with flames filled with emotion.
With a roar, the flames, now much stronger than before, incinerated the beast before it could scream.
Once the burning demonic beast turned to ash without a trace, I shook off my prosthetic arm, which had been burned through the part of the school uniform given to me by a friend.
I’ve got to keep it clean.
As I absentmindedly dusted off my prosthetic arm, I noticed that the commotion the crowd was causing had vanished, along with the demonic beast.
And the attention of the people was now focused on me.
For a moment, I was taken aback, but recognizing it as a good opportunity, I took a deep breath, collected my thoughts, and shouted to the onlookers.
“As you can see, we have the capability to take down the demonic beasts, so you can rest assured. But if you disregard the orders and scatter like just now, we won’t be able to protect you even if we want to.”
To be honest, I was a bit angry a moment ago, but I understood why the people acted like that.
Not everyone has the strength to fight when monsters like that come charging.
Fear drives people mad.
I also have my fears, so I could understand their actions.
“We’re just students, and we understand your concerns. But please know that we’re here to protect you. We may be young, but we are heroes too. If we fight, we fight, and if we die, we die. So please allow us to protect you.”
Understanding their fear, I told them that we would face that fear for them.
That was our reason for stepping up.
So I sincerely asked them for their support.
“Therefore, please trust us a little more. Please listen to us. We promise to do our utmost to keep you safe.”
After my words, I checked on a few injured people from the earlier commotion and began the evacuation again.
Fortunately, it seemed that my sincerity had reached them, as they were more willing to follow our commands than before.
Seeing them stop those who disregarded our orders was a reminder to me.
People, in the majority, are good.
When they act out, it’s simply out of fear.
The reason heroes exist is to shoulder the fears of people and to protect their goodness.
However, not long after, small dots began to fly down from the sky toward various places.
And when I saw one of those dots heading toward a specific spot, my expression hardened.
“Hey, has evacuation finished over there?”
“Ah… over there is still…”
As Marin, who was helping evacuate people next to me, answered that, I immediately jumped up and shouted.
“Sorry! Please take care of things here for a moment!”
The spot the demonic beast was heading for was where Rion’s orphanage was located.
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